Days after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said Narendra Modi was “answerable on moral grounds” for the Gujarat riots in 2002, Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal echoed his views, saying that every institution in the country had been unjust to “the people suffering in Gujarat”.

“I am not making any allegations, but the needle of suspicion points towards the Gujarat administration of the time,” Sibal said.
Sibal, who is seeking re-election from the Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency, also spoke out against his opponent Harsh Vardhan. “He wants to endorse Chandni Chowk after 21 years. I will request him to resign as MLA and from all posts at the state BJP, then we will believe that he is serious about the constituency,” Sibal said.

The Law Minister said he had visited his constituency 570 times in the last five years and challenged “anyone” to compare their record with his.

He also questioned the “Modi wave” in the country, stating that if there was indeed such a wave why was the BJP trying to appease leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan and Raj Thackeray and poaching leaders from other parties.

Emphasising that he was speaking as a candidate and not the Law Minister, Sibal said the Supreme Court should have handed over Gujarat riots probe to an independent agency as the SIT had little power in Gujarat. “The Supreme Court should have monitored all cases related to Gujarat riots through an independent investigation agency,” he said.